Mother of bald-headed girl makes request
Jamie
Renfro, with her daughter Kamryn, 9, says she wants people to focus on
helping Delaney Clements, who has been fighting childhood cancer since
she was 7. She wants to shift the focus from the controversy concerning
the decision of the Caprock Academy board of directors to allow Kamryn
to remain at school after officials had initially barred her, saying she
violated the dress code by shaving her head over the weekend in support
of Delaney.
The Associated Press
DENVER
– The mother of a Grand Junction third-grader who shaved her head in
solidarity with a cancer-stricken friend is asking for an end to the
national furor over a school’s short-lived decision to bar the girl from
campus, so the focus can shift to the recovery of her 11-year-old
friend.
The board of directors of
the charter school, the Caprock Academy, voted Tuesday to let Kamryn
Renfro remain. Officials had earlier barred her, saying she violated the
dress code by shaving her head over the weekend.
The
Denver Post reported Wednesday that Kamryn’s mother, Jamie Olson
Renfro, took her daughter to Denver Tuesday to be with her friend ahead
of a hospital visit. Olson Renfro called on people who have been
following the story to think of Delaney Clements, who has been fighting
childhood cancer since she was 7.
“Delaney
is still in the fight of her life, and needs as much love, support and
prayers as she can get,” Olson Renfro told the Post.
Delaney,
bald from chemotherapy, told the Post that having friends willing to
shave their heads made it easier to withstand teasing about her
appearance.
“It feels good to have my friends be there for me, and to know I am not alone,” she said.
Olson
Renfro also wrote on Facebook that Caprock was supportive of her
daughter throughout the process that ended with Tuesday’s board vote.
The
board voted 3-1 to grant Kamryn a waiver from the dress code, The Daily
Sentinel of Grand Junction reported Wednesday. Two uniformed Grand
Junction Police officers were on hand at the special meeting for the
vote. Police Chief John Camper said police saw no specific threat, but
offered to send officers because emotions were high and the events have
received considerable attention.
The board member who voted against the waiver, Bill Newcomer, said “emotionally charged” decisions should be avoided.
Chairwoman
Catherine Norton Breman began the special meeting by telling the
audience of about 20 people, most of them teachers and reporters, that
Kamryn’s motivation was “commendable.”
